Unfinished Business - by Mary

This past weekend’s message about unfinished business has been whirling around in my head this week. I have had this “holy discontent” for several months, actually through most of the fall and winter. I know God has something for me to do. Not sure what that is yet, but I have been seeking Him through fasting, prayer and just alone time with Him.

One thing I realized last fall was that if I was going to be ready for whatever God has for me that I had better get in shape physically. So that has been my next step over the winter. I get anxious wanting to know “what’s next”. But God knows me and probably isn’t going to put the next agenda item in front of me until I have finished the first task. It is too easy for me to get distracted before I finish the task at hand. I found myself saying, “yep, that’s me,” when Aaron talked this past Sunday about one of his professors telling him that he was good at starting many things, but not so good at finishing. Anybody else like that?

Have you been thinking about your next step this past week? Is it just not starting anything new until you finish the task at hand? Or is it seeking God for what that next step is? Or are you jumping into something that has been calling you for some time? I’d love to hear what is going on with your Unfinished Business.

By Mary

Do you ever commit to something, then wonder a little later “what was I thinking?”? Last week, I committed to running the Illinois Marathon 5K with my good friend Brittany. Since November, we have been motivating and encouraging each other with our fitness goals. At that moment, this race seemed like a fun thing to do together.

After the initial “Rah! Rah!” we can do this, the doubts started in my brain. I started going through all the reasons I can’t or shouldn’t do this. The list went something like this; I’m way too old, still out of shape, slow, I don’t think I have ever run a 5K in my life, I can’t remember the last time I ran 5 blocks, I’ll collapse , I’ll embarrass myself… I won’t bore you with the complete list but I can assure you it got quite long.

After about a half a day of listening to all those thoughts spin around in my head, I realized that two of my old companions had showed up again. Fear and Pride. Argh! Why do I keep letting those guys have their way with me? How often do I let them run my life? God does not want that for me. Both of those totally block the abundant life God has for me.

Honestly, most of my fears were driven by my pride. The same pride that keeps my struggles in the dark, the same pride that won’t admit that I need help with something, the same pride that sometimes thinks I need to present this neat little life all tied up with a pretty bow, the same pride that often thinks I can “fix” whatever by myself without bothering anyone including God. Pride almost kept me from writing about pride. How ridiculously absurd is that?!

So this week, I am spending lots of time reflecting on how adversely pride has affected my life and reading lots of scriptures about how great God is and how He feels about pride and humility. Job 38 is very humbling reading.

Do you struggle with pride? If so, what does pride look like in your life?

James 4:6 (NIV)
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”[b]
James 4:10 (NIV)
10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

When you travel do you ever save something from a trip? Something that reminds you of the great time you had, like an airline ticket, a ticket stub from a concert, or one of those plastic drink cups from a sporting event? Or do you have imprinted T-shirts from years past? My parents used to have a jar with assorted match books they had collected from different places they had visited.

Truth be told, if I were to clean out a couple of cabinet drawers in my house, there would probably be numerous items like that.
Let’s face it; most of those things are just clutter or junk. They are not serving a function; they don’t really bring me any joy. In fact most of the time, they do just the opposite by adding stress to my life.

The other morning during my quiet time with God, I gazed upon a couple of things straight out of my past. One was a jar filled with corks from bottles of wine that had been consumed with friends over the years. Funny how God sometimes speaks through ordinary things…
After looking at those old corks from days gone by, the thought came to me that they are really trash from the past. They have very little use. I could think I will make a cool serving tray out of them some day, but honestly that probably is not gonna happen.
Why in the world am I keeping those???
How true that statement is of some of my other material stuff and most definitely stuff from my past like; my mistakes, emotional pain, or hurt from others. Why am I hanging onto junk from the past?
One of the verses from the apostle Paul that I have been repeating over and over this week is Philippians 3:12-14.

Pressing on Toward the Goal
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

I love this verse because Paul admits he is not there yet, but he continues to persevere. Christ died that we might have freedom from all forms of captivity, including our junk.

Is there junk you need to get rid of so that you can take hold of all the blessings God has for you?

-Mary-

Rough Week by Mary

Do you ever have a week that is just rough on you, mentally, emotionally, physically or spiritually?

This past week has been one of those for me. As some of you know, my mom passed away the first part of January. For a number of years, I have been taking mom on a vacation to somewhere sunny and warm this time of year, typically this past week. So I am a little sad, missing her and her sense of adventure.

Also, this time last year one of the kindest, fun-loving friends I’ve ever know passed away after battle an illness for eight months. While she was battling the illness I never dreamed it would take her home. I am missing her laugh and her playful spirit.

Additionally this past week, a young couple that I love bunches was devastated as they discovered her pregnancy was ending in a miscarriage. My heart just cries for them.

Lastly, to be totally honest, this time of year I struggle to keep myself out of the dark hole of depression. All of these circumstances this week seem to have just piled one on top of another.

The thing is that I realize that I am in the middle of a spiritual battle. Satan is trying hard to knock the love of life and the joy I have deep inside right out of me. Fortunately, I have some great weapons that I am using to defeat this attack. First of all, I am spending time first thing every morning with God. Mostly this week, I have just been telling Him of my sadness and asking for His comfort and peace. He understands.

James 4:7 tells us to” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” As my shield, I am carrying index cards with verses that remind me of God’s faithfulness. Anytime I have a depressing thought, I have been whipping out one of the cards to block the attack.

Lastly, I am trying to spend extra time with people I love. Just being around them or talking to them on the phone lift my spirits.

Do you have any great weapons against spiritual battles that have waged against you? I would love to hear about them.

On my 20 mile daily drive through the country to Champaign this week, I have been looking for signs of Spring. I know that it is early in February and Spring is 40 days away, but I am a Spring fanatic. I love everything about Spring in Illinois. Even in February, if you look closely, you can see the change of season happening.

While I was searching for signs, like different types of birds returning, the thought occurred to me, “I wondered if others could see more signs of Christ in me?” Have I shown love and compassion in the everyday frustrations of life? What would others say about you? Could they tell that Christ is in you?

This past week’s message, Margin- Scheduling Margin, was major convicting for me. For much of my adult life, I have been the “Queen of Busy”. I am not sure why, but often if I am not busy doing, I feel as though I am not being productive. Sometimes I subconsciously act or feel like the world would probably fall apart if I am unproductive for an hour or morning or even a day. Wow! How prideful and arrogant is that statement? I act like the God of The Universe; Creator of Everything can’t handle things while I take a time out and rest. Are there any other “Kings or Queens of Busy” out there?

As I reflect on this past decade of my life, I realize that God has been working on getting rid of the busyness, so that I can have time for the important stuff. It has not been easy, and many of the decisions that were about time, were also about money.

What has helped most in making major changes is seeking God’s wisdom before making changes or committing to something else. Searching scripture for guidance, seeking wise counsel and just spending time with God are tools that have worked well.

One thing I learned early in the business world was that if someone wanted my answer immediately without time to review all the information, saying “No” was the wisest answer. Slowly, I am learning to apply that principle to my everyday life.

I love the simple questioned posed in this week’s message; “In light of _____, is it wise?” Fill in the blank with whatever applies; your family situation, your health, your finances, whatever the important things are in your life. Most likely, you can answer that question without thinking twice.

If not, I highly recommend getting your nose in the bible, seeking wise counsel and spending some time seeking God’s wisdom.

James 3:17 says But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

Since Craig’s sermon this past Sunday, have you been thinking about creating margin in your life? One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was “Put God First”. I have found that applies to all areas of my life, especially in a practical sense to my daily schedule. Non-morning people will hate this next part. It is not easy and I am not always successful, but when I get up 15-30 minutes early and devote time to reading my bible and actually asking God to guide my day, a cool thing happens. He actually does! How great is that!

In Mark 1:35, we see that Jesus found time early to be with His Father early in the morning.

“^“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

This early morning environment seems to be the time when I am able to “Be Still” before God.

What about you? What environment works best for you to be still before God? Are you creating margin so that God does not get squeezed out of your daily schedule?